ID replacement process as simple as taking a selfie

With the new Do-It-Yourself ID Replacement Program, more than 70,000 employees Kingdomwide have the power to update and create new ID cards. The new two-step process, which was inaugurated earlier this week, includes downloading the mySecurity app, taking a selfie, and then obtaining their new ID at a new Self-Service ID Kiosk near them. 

The new process means no more appointments; no more queuing up at the ID Office to replace your ID; and unlimited opportunities to take your own (and best) ID photo with a smartphone.  

The new touch-free process is just the latest example of a larger companywide effort to use digital technologies and processes to provide more efficient and effective services to company employees. And in the era of COVID-19, these services have been designed to maintain business continuity for critical operations while protecting our employees’ health and safety as well as enhancing customer satisfaction and quality of life. 

“Given HR&CS’s strategy of being a customer-focused organization, this revolutionized ID process fulfils this mission by providing a convenient and reliable service to customers around the clock,” said Adel F. Al-Wuhaib, manager of Industrial Security Support Department.

The new streamlined process — developed as a partnership between Information Technology and ISO —ensures a speedy replacement program for 70,000 employees before they lapse at the end of the year, utilizing the latest in digital technologies that Aramco is famous for. It also ensures that Aramco’s employees can update their IDs in a seamless and timely manner, without the need to stand in lines, and without putting themselves at risk of catching COVID-19.  

“When COVID started to hit us hard in May, we were already in the process of creating a self-service ID replacement program that was similar to using an ATM,” said Rayyan M. Alorini, project lead for the ID Replacement Program. “Through brainstorming, we came up with an innovation to use bar-code readers to help users navigate through the pages on the screen, which would then be verified through one-time PIN codes sent to the user’s smartphone. That made the process touch-free.”

Obtaining a new ID will take an average of two minutes, compared with 15 minutes under the old system. The 30 Self-Service ID Kiosks located at Aramco facilities around the Kingdom are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. 

Of course, you can still obtain your new ID in the old way, by physically visiting an ISO ID office near you. You can even use your mySecurity app to take a photo of yourself, and schedule an ID pickup appointment, where your ID will be pre-printed and waiting for you in an ID Center. 

But whatever method you choose, the new system is designed to be an easier and time efficient way to update your Aramco ID. Please do so before Dec. 31, 2020.

DIY: You get the picture
The first step in updating your ID is as simple as taking a selfie. The mySecurity app allows the employee to take his photo in three ways:

• Take a selfie photo using your mobile front camera

• Take a photo using your mobile rear camera (for better resolution)

• Give your mobile to a colleague to take a photo of you, using the mobile rear camera.

For those who may be unhappy with the photo on your current ID, there is especially good news. You can take as many photos as you like, and the mySecurity app will then perform compliance checks on your photo to make sure the photo complies with all the important criteria such as proper lighting, light background, eyes open, and so on. If you still don’t like the expression on your face, you can just take another photo, or ask a friend to take one of you.